Arugula

Green Apple and Potato Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese

By / Fruits, Greens, Salad / Leave a Comment /

The name says it all… potato, green apple, arugula, goat cheese… what more could you ask for, in a salad? But there is still more… roasted walnuts and a tangy, spicy dressing to top it all! Honestly, this is one of the easiest and tastiest of salads that I have ever made or eaten!
 
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Though any variety of potatoes can be used in this salad, red potatoes have proved to be the best choice. Also, crispy, tangy granny smith apples go very well with the red potatoes.
 
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Arugula is my favourite salad leaf. Not ‘one of’, but ‘the’! Sometimes I keep some in a dish and keep munching on the leaves as I go about my cooking. This lovely green with a peppery flavour is full of phytochemicals, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals!
 
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Goat cheese is the perfect counterfoil for the sharpness of arugula. Add some walnut for crunch, and you got an absolute winner.
 
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A simple lemon juice and olive oil dressing with a tiny bit of honey is kicked up with crushed cumin and a tiny pinch of red chili flakes. Shake together the lot, and the fabulous dressing is ready in two minutes!
 
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This salad is assembled layer by layer starting with the boiled potato slices. After placing each layer, add some of the dressing on top the layer and continue with the next layer.
 
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Potatoes, apple pieces, arugula, goat cheese, and walnuts at the top.
 
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And end with a drizzle of the remaining dressing.
 
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It’s not a good idea to keep this salad for long – in or out of the refrigerator. So you should keep all the ingredients ready – even make the dressing – and assemble it just before serving.

 

~Ria

Green Apple and Potato Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
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Ingredients
  • 4 medium sized red potatoes
  • 1 granny smith apple
  • 1 cup arugula leaves
  • ¾ cup goat cheese
  • ½ cup walnuts
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp red chili flakes
Directions
  1. Boil the potatoes in salted water, with the skin on and keep aside.
  2. Cut the apple into bite sized pieces.
  3. Dry roast the walnuts till they start to turn golden brown around the edges.
  4. Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, and honey.
  5. Crush the cumin coarsely and add to the dressing mix, along with the red chili flakes and mix thoroughly.
  6. Slice the boiled potatoes thickly and place on a salad platter.
  7. Using a pastry brush, brush the dressing on the potato slices.
  8. Add the apple pieces, arugula and goat cheese bits, adding some dressing after each layer.
  9. Toss the roasted walnuts on top and drizzle the remaining dressing over them.
  10. Serve the salad at room temperature. Yum!

 

A Cool Salad with Lemon-Maple Syrup Dressing

By / Fruits, Greens, Salad / Leave a Comment /

Summer is truly here… and the mercury goes up delighting the hearts of all those who have been waiting for just that. That is exactly how the day started yesterday. But by around 10 am, it was evident that the humidity was going up and the day was turning muggy. And my plans for lunch changed suddenly to reflect that reality.

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Don’t get me wrong… I’m not complaining about the weather. I don’t mind at all if the weather is muggy on a weekday, when anyway I have to stay chained to my laptop. The weekends, that is what matters. And the weekends have been glorious so far! Here is hoping that they keep that trend going till the end of the season. Don’t I have a thousand plans for the rest of the summer? 🙂

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Sooo lunch… yes, a salad for lunch; I needed to make a salad for lunch. Not any salad, but a light salad, that feels like a cool breeze. At the same time, it had to have some bulk. Watermelon! One of the fruits that symbolises summer for me. Lightly sweet, taking care of hunger and thirst at the same time. Yes, that will be the base of the salad.

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And some arugula, to counteract the sweetness of the watermelon. The slightly peppery taste of the arugula balances very well with the watermelon. Sliced black olives for an added bit of flavour and thinly sliced white mushrooms to take up the juice. Perfect combo, in flavours as well as colours!

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For the dressing, no oil. A squeeze of lemon, of course. I was about to go with a splash of honey to cut the tanginess of the lemon juice, but then remembered I had an unopened bottle of maple syrup sitting by. It was a present from a friend from Toronto, last time she visited me. Lemon juice and a splash of maple syrup, shaken up together, worked just right!

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In case… just in case you would like a bit of heat to add to the fun, include a finely minced pickled jalapeno to the dressing. Adds a good kick, but it is strictly optional.

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A salad that is a feast to satisfy all your senses!

 

~Ria

 

A Cool Salad with Lemon-Maple Syrup Dressing
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups watermelon pieces
  • 1 cup arugula baby leaves
  • 12 black olives, sliced crosswise
  • 2 white mushrooms, sliced thinly
  • Juice from ½ a lemon
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 pickled jalapeno to add some heat, strictly optional
  • Salt to taste
Directions
  1. In a large dish, toss together watermelon pieces, arugula, sliced olives and mushrooms.
  2. Sprinkle with salt to taste.
  3. Transfer to a serving dish and chill in the refrigerator.
  4. Thoroughly shake together the lemon juice and maple syrup (and finely minced jalapeno, if using) to make the dressing.
  5. When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad and serve right away.